The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 03, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 28, 2001
Johannes Gerard Wijmans, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Richard W. Baker, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Zhenjie He, Fremont, CA (US);
Ingo Pinnau, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., Menlo Park, CA (US);
Abstract
A process for treating natural gas or other methane-rich gas to remove excess nitrogen and optionally excess carbon dioxide, water vapor or hydrogen sulfide. The invention relies on gas separation by membranes, using nitrogen/methane selective membranes. The membranes are characterized by having the capability to exhibit a nitrogen/methane selectivity between about 2 and 5 at a temperature higher than about −25° C. The gas may be brought to pipeline specification for nitrogen, and acid gases if present, without requiring the use of amine scrubbing or other acid gas removal technique.